Man Lands in Court After Laughing Too Loud in His Home

Man Lands in Court After Laughing Too Loud in His Home

It’s been no laughing matter for one New York City man who could face up to 30 days in jail after a neighbor complained to police about the man’s loud laugh coming from inside his home.

A Long Island man was issued two court summonses for disturbing the peace after a neighbor complained about the man’s loud laugh. The neighbor says he heard the laugh from across the driveway.

The laugher—Robert Schiavelli—appeared in court over the charges last week and a judge refused to toss out the charges. Schiavelli could face up to 30 days in jail and $500 in fines.

"It's absurd," says Schiavelli's attorney, Andrew Campanelli. "My client faces 30 days in jail for laughing... The last time I checked, it was not a crime to laugh.”

Schiavelli was issued tickets for acting in a way as to “annoy, disturb, interfere with, obstruct, or be offensive to others.”

The neighbor, Daniel O’Hainan, claims that Schiavelli was laughing at him from the window.

Others in the neighborhood told reporters that Schiavelli and O’Hainan have allegedly been feuding neighbors for decades and that police have been called to Schiavelli’s home reportedly about 30 times in that period.